On April 4, 2017, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors (Board) approved the Yolo County’s Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Three-Year Program and Expenditure Plan for FY 2017-2020 (Yolo MHSA 3-Yr. Plan 2017-20.)  The Yolo MHSA 3-Yr. Plan 2017-20, most specifically the Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) component of MHSA, identified and provided for a Rural School-Based Mental Access & Linkage Program and a Rural School-Based Mentorship & Strengths-Building Program. The County issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) and Rural Innovations in Social Economics, Inc (RISE) was awarded the contract via Agreement No. 20-216.
 
The Rural School-Based Mentorship & Strengths-Building Program serves these functions: 1) to provide school- and/or community-based education programs about children's mental health and mental health issues relevant to children, youth, and child-serving agencies; 2) to provide school- and/or community-based prevention groups for school-age children, and 3) to provide after-school mentorship to children and youth.
 
The Rural School-Based Mental Health Services Access and Linkage Program place a clinical referral and access specialist staff person at schools to provide timely mental health triage and referral for children and youth aged 6 to 18.  This program shifts the focus for MHSA funded clinical staff from providing brief treatment in the schools, to link the child and family to the appropriate level of community outpatient mental health services.
 
On August 18, 2020, the Board approved Yolo County’s MHSA Three-Year Program and Expenditure Plan for FY 2020-2023 (Yolo MHSA 3-Yr. Plan 2020-23.)  The Yolo MHSA 3-Yr. Plan 2020-23, most specifically the PEI component of MHSA, outlined a plan to provide mental health services to the K-12 population through a partnership with local school districts and the Yolo County Office of Education. While the program and RFP planning and the process are being completed for these services, Agreement No. 20-216 has been extended to prevent a gap in services to the target populations of children and youth aged 6 to 8.
 
HHSA is requesting approval of this amendment to extend Agreement No. 20-216 through August 31, 2021, until the RFP process for the School-Based Partnership Services is completed. The extension of services will allow RISE to continue these vital services to clients and prevent a gap in services while allowing for a smooth transition of services.
 
Performance measures were included in agreement No. 20-216 and are not being changed by this amendment.

On April 24, 2017, Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) from qualified community-based organizations to provide Rural School-Based Mental Health Services Access & Linkage Program and Rural Mentorship & Strengths Building Program services.  The RFP was open for twenty-two (22) days (just over 3 weeks). Bidders were required to submit their proposals electronically through BidSync. HHSA received one proposal from this solicitation.
 
On June 28, 2017, HHSA re-issued an RFP desiring to attract qualified community-based organizations to provide Rural School-Based Mental Health Services Access & Linkage Program and Rural Mentorship & Strengths Building Program Services. This second RFP included a revised scope of work and the opportunity to submit proposals via the electronic BidSync system or hand delivering a proposal directly to HHSA. A mandatory bidder’s conference held on July 6, 2017 which offered potential bidders an opportunity to ask questions. This RFP was open for thirty-six (36) days (just over 5 weeks).
 
This opportunity was noticed via Bidsync, via an email that was sent out to approximately sixty (60) potential bidders who had previously viewed the original RFP issued on April 24, 2017, and was also shared with the behavioral health providers that currently contract with HHSA during several monthly meetings of the Provider Stakeholder Work Group. The opportunity was also posted publicly on the HHSA website and shared with a variety of partner email distribution lists, including the Health Council, Homeless and Poverty Action Coalition, Local Mental Health Board, and Substance Use Disorder Provider Network. 
 
HHSA received one proposal from this second solicitation. The proposal in the second solicitation was submitted by RISE. A proposal review committee was formed that included three (3) HHSA employees from two (2) different HHSA branches.  The proposal submitted by RISE was evaluated and determined to meet all the required qualifications necessary to successfully provide the Rural Mentorship and Strengths Building Program portion of the RFP. 
 
For the Rural Access & Linkage Program services, Yolo Family Service Agency (YFSA) was identified by HHSA staff as the qualified contractor to successfully provide these services for this portion of the RFP although YFSA did not submit a proposal.  HHSA and YFSA subsequently negotiated the final terms and conditions relating to these services, and a separate Agreement was presented to the Board for approval.  However, HHSA was later notified that YFSA could no longer provide these services, and HHSA terminated the Agreement.  On July 24, 2018, an amendment was approved by the Board to add the Access and Linkage portion of services to the then-current agreement for Rural Mentorship and Strengths Building Program portion with RISE.